TILBURY FC management due Marc Harrison and Liam Wallace have pledged to build a team that will show the fight required to bounce back up the non-League ladder following Saturday's relegation to the Essex Senior League.

The duo rejoined Tilbury in March after quitting neighbouring East Thurrock United and faced the challenge of getting enough points to stay out of the bottom four.

They followed in the footsteps of the disastrous appointment of Scott Dash who had been brought in by the Tilbury board after they sacked John Coventry following the new year defeat at Brentwood.

Veteran manager Coventry's reign had not been prolific and he had accrued just 15 points from 17 matches when he was axed with Dockers on the brink of the relegation zone.

Dash proved unable to improve things and under his tenure - before he quit in February with a petulant condemnation of the club's board - Dockers managed just one win and picked up four points from 12 games.

The arrival of Harrison and Wallace ultimately also failed to change things around and they managed just eight points from their matches in charge and Saturday's reversal of fortune sealed their second successive relegation - having been in charge when East Thurrock were relegated from the Isthmian Premier in 21-22.

The duo couldn't replicate their previous successes at Chadfields where they were in charge for three years in their first spell, steering Tilbury into a play-off place at the time the 2019-20 campaign ended because of covid lockdown and all the records were expunged.

The abortive attempt to restart football in the face of covid the following season saw Dockers on top of the table when the season was again abandoned.

Harrison and Wallace came together as a managerial duo in the Essex Olympian League with Basildon Town.

They then switched to neighbours Basildon United and led them to promotion from the Essex Senior League, finishing second - ironically behind Great Wakering.

They left Tilbury to take over at East Thurrock in October 2021 after the Rocks parted company with Paul Martin.

Now they are once more set to take on the Essex Senior League challenge.

Reflecting on Saturday's match in an interview with Mason Hurchinson, Wallace said: "Obviously after the game I was absolutely gutted. We were in the game for long spells but since we came in we have not been clinical enough.

"We have not taken our chances and today it came down to that again. We had enough chances to win the game but it didn't happen in front of goal, which is very gutting."

Harrison said his prime concern was letting the club's supporters down, saying: "I think the fans of Tilbury deserve a lot better.

"I think you could judge us if it was a different management team coming in for a short period of time that hasn't been here before that don't understand what the supporters are at Tilbury.

"If that was the case, they could look at me and say you have only been here for nine games.

"But I have managed quite a lot of games for Tilbury football club and right now the fans are at the forefront of my thoughts and, to be honest, I just want to start the next chapter, which is not the chapter we wanted to start with

"We wanted to be in this division, but we are going to work really hard to make sure that the success does come back.

"That's easier said than done but that's where my motivations lie right now."

Wallace added: "We aim to build a team that's going to compete at the top, to win the league really. We need to build a team that's going to fight, to have the will to go and play at that level.

"We know what that level is like, so we know how tough it is to get out of it. It's a tough division. To be fair all the divisions are tough to get out of.

"It just shows you how much fight there is in the teams like Coggeshall and Great Wakering. "Full respect to them for getting themselves out and into a play-of, especially Wakering who kept fighting every week and kept nicking results and they have done really, really well.

"For us to build a team next year we know what we have got to get, so the hard work starts now.

The duo have been together throughout their managerial career, starting out in the Essex Olympian League with Basildon Town. They then switched to neighbours Basildon United and took them to the Essex Senior League title and promotion to Isthmian North. The pair then took over at Tilbury FC in November 2018 but left for the challenge of keeping East Thurrock up in October 2021.